Ford Transit conversion to camper MKII

colm_mcm · 04-09-2020 9:34pm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

In regards to insulation, for the sides I have ordered some of that recycled stuff that people rave on about.

However, when it comes to the floor, I'm open to peoples suggestions on what I should do. I want to raise the floor as little as possible because I'm a bit on the tall side, so I was thinking 2 x 1 batons and 12 - 18mm ply on top.

Any suggestions as to what to put in between?

I’d go with Antinox https://www.homebase.co.uk/antinox-temporary-protection-black-2mm_p396649 plastic sheets (you can get them in Homebase very cheap) to fill in the low points in the floor, it’s great stuff. We used it on the Transit floor.

then cover with a layer of this https://www.coopsuperstores.ie/Building/Flooring/Flooring-Accessories
You don’t need batons IMO, 12mm ply would probably be ok, 18mm is heavy but less bendy too.

Buford T Justice · 04-09-2020 11:14pm

Have plenty of the flooring underlay lying around so I can use that..
Did you screw them directly to / through the floor?

What purpose does the antinox serve?

colm_mcm · 05-09-2020 9:35am

The antinox has air cavities in it and is more rigid than the foam. It’s another form of underlay. We found it didn’t squash as much as the foam would while still providing extra insulation.

Yeah we just fixed the floor on to the metal. You’ve gotta be strategic about where you have your joins, if you are you won’t get squeaks.

The description on the site says 2mm but it’s more like 4mm.

Buford T Justice · 05-09-2020 10:08pm

Fixed a few broken bits today, found some more broken bits.

The spring wasn't without it's challenges, but given the state of the underside of the van (meaning really clean), and the fact that I dosed the bolts with GT-85 a few times last week - it went remarkable swimmingly.

All the bolts came out very easily. We did have a pneumatic air gun which helped immensely.
Since the spring was broken and about two inches of a gap between each piece, the axle had shifted backwards on that side. It was crabbing on the road when it was been driven, and the tyre was occasionally rubbing against the wheel well.
We tried pulling the axle forwards, hitting it with a sledge and tying a strap to it and pulling as it was ratcheting in. No dice, it wouldn't come forwards enough to the locating pin. We disconnected the shock from the axle and there was no tension on the drive shaft.
I figured that the other side of the van's u bolts were holding the axle at the wrong axle and since they were tight there was no give.
I loosened these bolts and bang, it flew back to its normal position.
A little sprinkling of copper grease, all torqued back up to 180nm and job's a good-un.

Replaced the drop link on the passenger side and the two rubber bushings on the anti roll bar are knackered. They need replacing.
The ECU was reporting open circuit on both rear wheels, and the culprits were most likely broken wires. They were. One of the sensors had a broken wire at the plug, there was another broken wire where the loom goes around the chassis. Repaired the wire and no more abs faults - Yaay.

Took the van for a run and the Battery light came on as I was driving. I got back and the alternator isn't giving out power, or it is at about 12.5v so it needs re-conditioning. Well spotted by Sir Liamalot

I didn't realise the image was blurry until long after I was finished.

Buford T Justice · 05-09-2020 10:22pm

For posterity, here's the old girl, now a donor van.

The years, and rust haven't been kind to her. There's a massive hole in the middle if you look closely.
The body is completely rotten all along the bottom, including both A pillars at the front of the van

Buford T Justice · 05-09-2020 10:24pm

That ugly builders bumper was cracked, and was catching on the passenger side rear door when it opened.

I got rid of it.

Buford T Justice · 05-09-2020 10:36pm

Have been ordering things all this week and they've been arriving in dribs and drabs

I have 6 x 12V Puck leds, or downlighters
4 x strip LED lights. I ordered two spot lights and i got two strip lights instead, so some of these ones were free
1 x Roll of 2 core cable
5M water hose
Reversing Camera
12M of lining carpet with 10x ht spray adhesive. (waiting on a roll of insulation)

alias no.9 · 06-09-2020 12:02am

I fought with a drop link one day, trying to get it back on after changing an upper wishbone on an Alfa 156, had the side i was working in up in an axle stand, jacked up the other side to take the tension off the anti roll bar and hey presto everything lined up. It wasn't the first or second wishbone I'd replaced on that car. You've got to deal with axels when working on suspensions.

Buford T Justice · 06-09-2020 9:56pm

Power washed the underside of the van today. Dirty job, but its done now. Some minor repairs needed to the wiring loom , so I'll be tacking that soon. Van is now ready for underbody shutz treatment.

Switch on the clutch pedal was not closing properly. The bracket that engages with it was bent (common fault) and so there was no cruise control working.

Quick tweak and bingo - jobs a good'un. Also adjusted the handbrake.

colm_mcm · 06-09-2020 10:19pm

There’s a very handy camera you can get for the Transit, it replaces one of the number plate lights, we put one in ours a few years ago

Depending on your screen size, it might fit where the ashtray is, (unless they changed the ashtray in the facelift

WildWater · 09-09-2020 9:31pm

Fair play Buford T. I remember the old girl through I never did meet you on the road. Can’t believe it’s been that long.

[Deleted User] · 10-09-2020 4:42pm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

1 x Roll of 2 core cable

:pac:

You might want to bolster that supply. I go through about 200m assorted per motor.

(ballpark depending on requirements)

60m x 1.5mm² Thin wall twin

30m x 3mm² Thin wall twin

10m x 16mm² x Red Thin wall Single
10m x 16mm² x Black Thin wall Single
10m x 35mm² x Red Thin wall Single
5m x 35mm² x Black Thin wall Single

50m x H07RN 1.5mm² 3 core mains

More fuseblocks with ground buses.
Bus Bars with insulated covers.

Albright contactors for split charge & a used Smartbank.

Lugs, terminals 3:1 glue lined clear heatshrink, enclosures.

I'd also stick to warm white high CRI LEDs colour temperature 2700°K unless you want the interior to look like a building suppliers yard at night. GreenCo are exceptionally good and not at all expensive.

Zero chocy blocks.

Buford T Justice · 14-09-2020 11:50am

The lights are listed as warm white, so should be ok, though they don't mention what kelvin they are.

I've bought this as a split charge relay
This as a step up transformer to power my 24v night heater

colm_mcm · 14-09-2020 5:21pm

How many batteries are you fitting?

Buford T Justice · 14-09-2020 10:45pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

How many batteries are you fitting?

I've not decided yet. I was thinking of just one say 120AH battery. Something not too dissimilar to what the transit already uses in fairness. I'm open to suggestions on this. I need to replace one of the transit batteries as it is.

I know the absorption fridge isn't working on 240v - i think its the stat that's failed so I'm not decided if I'll change to an electric only and keep Sir Liamalot happy or re-use the existing one.

I'm open to suggestions.

Buford T Justice · 14-09-2020 10:52pm

Some more minor updates for this week.

Picked up a set of anti-roll bar bushings for the van this week and fitted them this evening. Not a difficult job, but movement was quite restricted with a ratchet and socket and the effort needed to remove the bolts.
I ended up using a torque wrench because of the leverage I got with it. Bit of copper grease on them and they flew back in again. Nothing really exciting about it to be fair.

Buford T Justice · 14-09-2020 10:56pm

I got a replacement set of locks and barrels for the van and replaced them too.
The ignition was the same as the old van, just a pin to pop it out.
The bonnet lock was only a few bolts to replace it, but like every other door lock out there it needed to be adjusted to catch the bonnet tightly.

There was no barrel on the drivers door lock, just a hole. The new barrel fitted in after a little wiggling and is now secured in place. However, it's not engaged the locking mechanism so it won't lock or open the van at all. Now I need to figure out how to wiggle the barrel out again.

Fun times.

colm_mcm · 15-09-2020 11:29am

Buford T Justice wrote: »

I've not decided yet. I was thinking of just one say 120AH battery. Something not too dissimilar to what the transit already uses in fairness. I'm open to suggestions on this. I need to replace one of the transit batteries as it is.

I know the absorption fridge isn't working on 240v - i think its the stat that's failed so I'm not decided if I'll change to an electric only and keep Sir Liamalot happy or re-use the existing one.

I'm open to suggestions.

Where is the van battery in yours? On the older ones it was under the drivers seat.

Buford T Justice · 15-09-2020 11:30am

colm_mcm wrote: »

Where is the van battery in yours? On the older ones it was under the drivers seat.

There's two batteries under the drivers seat - one as a starter battery and one as an accessory battery.

colm_mcm · 15-09-2020 11:39am

I had a feeling that was the case on the newer ones. Was a great place for one on the pre-facelift

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 6:29pm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

and keep Sir Liamalot happy

< 30Ah per day reliability or
> 200ah per day liability.

No brainer. I'm used to people ignoring my advise. Doesn't bother me.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

I'm open to suggestions.

Clicky

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 6:36pm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

The lights are listed as warm white, so should be ok, though they don't mention what kelvin they are.

Here's the best I've seen. If you can't tell the difference I'll eat my hat.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

I've bought this as a split charge relay

That's not very good.
Here's better.

Add a capable contactor

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 8:13pm

If she's Euro 5 onwards with a "smart" alternator then neither split charge will work. DC-DC charger to the rescue.

[edit) actually for a man of your talents I'd just say add a second alternator and be done with it.

Buford T Justice · 15-09-2020 9:42pm

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

< 30Ah per day reliability or
> 200ah per day liability.

Clicky

Ouch! £280 STG for 2 of those for 12V.

So if I was to go for a 240 fridge, would something like this with a suitable inverter do?

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

If she's Euro 5 onwards with a "smart" alternator then neither split charge will work. DC-DC charger to the rescue.

[edit) actually for a man of your talents I'd just say add a second alternator and be done with it.

Why not?
My alternator is currently knackered anyway, as you rightly spotted its not giving out enough voltage. the battery light comes on if I take it for a spin so it's giving out intermittent voltages. needs to be reconditioned. will get Coach Electric to do it. Is there something they can do with it to make it less smart

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Add a capable contactor

Obvious question is obvious, but why would I need a contactor?

Buford T Justice · 15-09-2020 9:56pm

I bought this repair kit for my key, since the remote central locking wasn't working. Common thinking is that these never fail, its only the battery that runs out.

Turns out, common thinking was right. It was an easy enough job to solder a replacement battery in. Job's a good'un and it works.

colm_mcm · 15-09-2020 10:01pm

Do those keys recharge from the ignition or something? Was that a thing?

Buford T Justice · 15-09-2020 10:03pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Do those keys recharge from the ignition or something? Was that a thing?

Yes, they're intended to be recharged by the key, but like I said this van wasn't looked after. There was a bit of card stuffed inside it to push the contacts together and all

Buford T Justice · 15-09-2020 10:07pm

There was no barrel in the drivers door lock and when I put the replacement one in it didn't operate the locks.
I took it out again, and it looks like there's something missing from the lock, along with a piece of plastic that has been displaced from somewhere.

It looks as though i may have to remove the whole mechanism to figure this out.

Would like to get a plate to cover the ugliness around the keyhole too.

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 10:56pm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Ouch! £280 STG for 2 of those for 12V.

Mine are six years old and testing as good as the day I bought them...but I use MorningStar.
A pair of those are comparable to 3 leisure batteries.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

So if I was to go for a 240 fridge, would something like this with a suitable inverter do?

Sure. I'd rather one with a freezer compartment personally.

This'll do.
I'd go for this one though.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Why not?
My alternator is currently knackered anyway, as you rightly spotted its not giving out enough voltage. the battery light comes on if I take it for a spin so it's giving out intermittent voltages.

Disconnect the battery. Clean the terminals including the D+ and the dash battery light. Renew the brushes. Change the belt and check tension...fixes 80% of issues.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Is there something they can do with it to make it less smart

Life's too short. DC-DC regulator but they're expensive for not much output. Or fit a dumb one beside it and a second battery light.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Obvious question is obvious, but why would I need a contactor?

Because it's a ~100A alternator and if you can't get 100A outtov it you're doing it wrong.
[edit): the smartbank is a relay/contactor driver only. The brains. The brawn is external because how long is a piece of string...ie. Professional kit.
If you open up the Cargo you'll find it's a cheapo circuit board, a transistor and a feeble 40A relay. In the interest of putting money where my mouth is how do you attach 35mm² [150A rated cable) to it?

Usually the problems built into the circuit are;

Too long cables
Too small cables
Poor terminations
Poor conductivity
Poor routing
Underspec-ed components
All of the above

Two alternators. No messin' 4 times better than split charge.
Double better than electronic boxes.

I can get a Sprinter to produce 90A at the house battery with two lengths of 35mm² and a contactor.
I do have a hard time imagining how to make it so bad as to not blow a 20A fuse which is normal fitment.

[Deleted User] · 15-09-2020 11:05pm

PS. If you heat shrink the croc. clips of your helping hands it won't bite circuit boards & nick cables when the jacket warms from the soldering iron.

Ford Transit conversion to camper MKII

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